Recreational vehicles (RVs) and boats are mobile vehicles that may periodically require connection to an outside power source. For example, many people who travel in RVs will stop overnight at a campground. The campground often provides an electrical panel with one or more electrical connection receptacles to the owner of the RV as part of the services provided for the owner's stay. The electrical panel may provide several different electrical services, ranging from 120 volt and 15 amps up to 240 volt and 50 amps.
The owner of the RV may take an extension electrical cord that is connected or otherwise tied in to the RV's electrical system and plug the extension cord into the campground's electrical panel. While this appears straightforward, many problems may be encountered. For example, the RV may be designed to connect to a different electrical service than that provided by the campground. The RV owner must also be aware of the amperage draw of the electric devices in the RV and determine whether the campground's electric service is adequate.
Perhaps a more compelling problem is the quality of the electric service provided by the campground. The campground's electric system may be old and in need of repair, or repairs may have been made that were insufficient or simply done wrong. Additionally, the campground's electrical system and connection points may have been subjected to abuse by previous RV owners, or may be degrading due to outside weather exposure. All of these factors may contribute to surges in the electricity supply, voltage spikes, open common or ground lines, or reversed polarity to name just a few potential problems.
Boats moored at a marina face similar problems. Aging boats are notorious for having suspect electrical systems. Further compounding marine electrical problems is that the electrical system is installed over or in a water environment that is ripe with the possibility of open shorts directly to the water. A single boat with a bad electrical system has been known to cause severe damage to many nearby boats connected to the same marina electrical system.
The RV and boat owner may connect one or more protective devices between the RV's or boat's electrical system and the outside electrical system to protect the vehicle's electrical system from poor quality outside electrical service. While surge protectors and voltage spike conditioners are found in several fields dealing with electric service, devices for RV and boat use must accommodate a range of connector types and electric service types, which makes fabricating these devices in a cost effective manner a challenging endeavor.